This disclosure is in the field of printed store labels like those used along a retail shelf edge.
Prior art embodiments include store labels or shelf tags (also called talkers) that arrive at the store as a perforated sheet. The labels, which may or may not be in planogram order, must first be removed as a sheet by detaching the perimeter waste strips and then individually removed from the sheet for hanging along the retail shelf edge.
Another prior art embodiment, NEXGEN (Grandville Printing, Grandville, Mich.), arrives at a store location like a box of cards, with the store labels detached from one another, organized in a box and sorted in planogram order. Because the deck of labels has no linear tie or linkage between adjacent labels, the labels may be sorted through to select a specific label in the deck. However, the deck risks losing its predetermined order due to searching, shuffling, or accidental dropping.
One other prior art embodiment, STACZ (Vestcom, Little Rock, Ark.), arrives at a store location like a stack of POST-IT notes, with the store labels arranged in planogram order on a board. Once a (vertical) stack of labels is selected and removed from the board, the labels are removed in top-down fashion, with each label peeled off the top of the stack in order. Because the stack has a linear tie between adjacent labels, if a label other than the top label is desired the stack must be broken into two parts and joined back together once the desired label is removed. Additionally, the label requires a release coating on its face and an adhesive on its back.